Coleus plant named ‘UF19-79-2’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) plant named ‘UF19-79-2’ is a new Coleus plant, selected for having a combination of desirable traits that make it well-suited for good performance as an annual plant in the summer landscape. ‘UF19-79-2’ has foliage that is consistently dark red in color across the plant in both sun and shade trial conditions. ‘UF19-79-2’ is exceptional because it has an extremely vigorous upright and spreading habit, which is not typical of most predominantly red leaf colored Coleus plants. It is upright and spreading in habit, but it is more highly branched and uniform in shape than most dark red Coleus plants that have been produced to date. Since red foliage is one of the most popular consumer choices for garden plants, ‘UF19-79-2’ should have high utility for use in any part of the garden landscape.

Genus and species: Coleus scutellarioides.

Cultivar denomination: ‘UF19-79-2’.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

N/A.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FEDERAL RESEARCH SUPPORT

N/A.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Coleus plantnamed ‘UF19-79-2’. The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ originated from an openpollination conducted in May-November 2018 in Gainesville, Fla. betweenthe female Coleus plant ‘UF18-64-7’ (unpatented) and an unknown maleColeus plant. A single seedling was chosen in May 2019 for furtherasexual propagation in Gainesville, Fla.

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ has been reproduced asexually for over 18months through vegetative meristem tip cuttings and has been found toretain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexualpropagations. ‘UF19-79-2’ was first propagated asexually by meristem tipcuttings in May 2019 in Gainesville, Fla., and has remained true-to-typesince that time.

Plant Breeder's Rights for the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ have not beenapplied for, and ‘UF19-79-2’ has not been made publicly available morethan one year prior to the filing date of this application.

When compared to the female parent ‘UF18-64-7’, the new cultivar‘UF19-79-2’ has an upright and spreading habit that grows morehorizontal than vertical, and is well-branched. Leaves are predominantlydark red across the entire plant, with some leaves having patches ofyellow green in the understory. In contrast, the female parent‘UF18-64-7’ is much less vigorous and is more upright in habit with lesslateral branching. ‘UF18-64-7’ has leaves with a similar shape, but theyare more maroon in color with distinct lime green margins.

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ was selected for its excellent vigor,lateral branching, uniform overall habit, and intense dark red leafcolor in sun and shade. It has superb vigor with dark red foliage color,and it produces an exceptional number of lateral branches. ‘UF19-79-2’is a novel red foliage genotype that it is extremely vigorous and caneasily grow four feet tall in the landscape while maintaining intenseits dark red leaf color in both sun and shade. It performs well in sunand shade and has excellent vigor to withstand the harsh selectionconditions our plants are subjected to in full sun trials inGainesville, Fla.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may varywith variations in environment and cultural practices such astemperature, light intensity, fertilization, irrigation, and applicationof plant growth regulators without any change in genotype.

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishingcharacteristics of ‘UF19-79-2’ when grown under normal horticulturalpractices in Gainesville, Fla. ‘UF19-79-2’ has the combination ofvigorous upright and spreading growth habit, excellent heat tolerance,and consistent dark red colored leaves that are significantly differentthan other Coleus plants. It has superior stability in foliage color inboth sun and shade conditions, maintaining stable color in allconditions. It has excellent lateral branching, making it suitable forpropagators and producers. ‘UF19-79-2’ has been observed to havelong-season performance in landscape trials in Gainesville, Fla.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

This new Coleus cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ is illustrated by the accompanyingphotographs, which show the plant's form and foliage. The colors shownare as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographicprocedures. FIGS. 2 and 3 were taken from plants grown nine weeks fromunrooted cuttings in September-November 2021 in a glass-coveredgreenhouse in Gainesville, Fla.

FIG. 1 shows the pedigree of the claimed plant;

FIG. 2 shows the growth habit, form, and foliage of the claimed plant;and

FIG. 3 shows a close-up view of the foliage of the claimed plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CULTIVAR

The following detailed description sets forth the distinctivecharacteristics of the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’. Color references are toThe R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London(R.H.S.), 2007 5th Edition.

Description of Growing Conditions

The detailed description was generated using nine-week-old plants of thenew cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ grown from unrooted cuttings inSeptember-November 2021 in a glass-covered greenhouse in Gainesville,Fla. The plants were propagated in mist for ten days after cuttings werestuck, then grown in one-gallon pots for approximately seven and a halfadditional weeks.

Botanical Description

-   Botanical classification:    -   -   Family.—Lamiaceae.        -   Botanical name.—Coleus scutellarioides.        -   Common name.—Coleus.        -   Cultivar.—‘UF19-79-2’.-   Parentage:    -   -   Female or seed parent.—‘UF18-64-7’.        -   Male or pollen parent.—Unknown.-   Plant description:    -   -   Growth habit.—Upright and spreading.        -   Plant height (from top of soil).—40-45 cm.        -   Plant diameter (horizontal plant diameter).—65-70 cm.-   Propagation:    -   -   Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristem tip cuttings having at            least 1 node.        -   Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days.        -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days.-   Roots:    -   -   Rooting habit.—Fibrous.        -   Root description.—Callus forms in 2-3 days, roots initiate            in 3-4 days and become a highly branched cutting in 7-10            days.-   Branches:    -   -   Quantity per plant.—8.        -   Branch color.—RHS 187A (dark red).        -   Texture.—Smooth.        -   Pubescence.—Not present.        -   Stem description.—Square-shaped stem, 0.9 cm in diameter at            the soil line.        -   Branch diameter.—0.7-0.8 cm at the base of a 34 cm long            branch.        -   Branch length.—32-34 cm.        -   Internode length.—4-5 cm.        -   Anthocyanin.—RHS 187A (dark red).-   Foliage description:    -   -   Quantity of leaves per branch.—24-26.        -   Arrangement.—Opposite.        -   Fragrance.—Not fragrant.        -   Shape.—Ovate.        -   Length.—13-15 cm.        -   Width.—8-9 cm.        -   Apex.—Broadly Acuminate.        -   Base.—Attenuate.        -   Margin.—Lobed.        -   Leaf texture.—Top: Pulverulent. Bottom: Smooth.        -   Pubescence.—Not present.        -   Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red). Lower            surface: RHS 187A (dark red).        -   Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Reticulate. Lower surface:            Reticulate.        -   Color, immature leaf.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red)            with patches of RHS 144A (strong yellow green) in the            understory. Lower surface: RHS N186C (dark greyish red).        -   Color, mature leaf.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red) with            patches of RHS 144A (strong yellow green) in the understory.            Lower surface: RHS 187A (dark red).        -   Petiole length.—4-5 cm.        -   Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm.        -   Petiole color.—RHS 187A (dark red).        -   Petiole texture.—Smooth, no pubescence.-   Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed.-   Fruit/seed set: Fruit/seed not observed.-   Insect and disease resistance: Disease and insect resistance is    typical of the species, thus no claims are made of any superior    disease or insect resistance with this cultivar. The most common    insect pests observed on this plant in Gainesville, Fla. have been    long-tailed or citrus mealybugs (Pseudococcus sp.), which occur on    older stock plant material held in the greenhouse for over 3-4    months. Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (Bunyaviridae) has also been    observed in plants confined in greenhouses with mixed crops    (peppers) infected with Western flower thrips (Frankliniella    occidentalis). The most common pathogen of this species in the U.S.    is downy mildew (Perononspora lamii). This pathogen has been    observed in stock materials grown closely together in cooler growing    seasons.

COMPARISON WITH KNOWN CULTIVARS

Plants of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ can be compared to thoseof ‘UF13-42-4’ (sold commercially under the trade name RUBY SLIPPER™,U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,566). The color on the upper surface of matureleaves of ‘UF19-79-2’ is RHS 187A (dark red) with patches of RHS 144A(strong yellow green) in the understory. In contrast, the color on theupper surface of mature leaves of ‘UF13-42-4’ is RHS 185A (deep red)with margins colored RHS N144C (light green) in an irregular pattern.Additionally, ‘UF19-79-2’ has thicker stems (0.9 cm in diameter),whereas ‘UF13-42-4’ has thinner stems (0.5 cm in diameter).

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct Coleus scutellarioides plantnamed ‘UF19-79-2’ as shown and described herein.